Support for Occupy Wall Street drops in poll

Public support for the Occupy Wall Street movement is down and opposition up sharply in a new national survey taken by the Democratic-leaning firm of Public Policy Polling.

By a narrow margin, more of those surveyed have a higher opinion of the Tea Party movement than Occupy Wall Street, according to the poll taken Nov. 10 to 13, as authorities ordered OWS encampments dismantled in a number of cities.

“What the downturn in Occupy Wall Street’s image suggest is that voters are seeing the movement as more about ‘Occupy’ than ‘Wall Street.’ The controversy over the protests is starting to drown out the actual message,” wrote Tom Jensen of Public Policy Polling.

In the latest survey, 33 percent voiced support for Occupy Wall Street, down from 35 percent in a previous poll, while opposition to the movement climbed from 36 percent to 45 percent. Twenty-two percent were unsure.

The poll asked: “Do you have a higher opinion of the Occupy Wall Street movement or the Tea Party movement?” Forty-three percent opted for Tea Party, 37 percent for the occupiers.

“These are rough numbers for Occupy Wall Street. The particularly painful part is falling behind the Tea Party,” Chris Bowers wrote on the dailykos.com website. Dailykos.com has been outspoken in its support for the occupiers.

Jensen reported, however, that public support remains high for raising taxes on the wealthy and taking away their multiple tax breaks.

“I don’t think the bad poll numbers for Occupy Wall Street reflect Americans being unconcerned with wealth inequality,” he said. “Polling we did earlier this year found overwhelming support for raising taxes on people who make over $150,000 a year.”